Based on several moves Samsung made before and during its Note 10 launch, you'd think the company was determined to let nothing steal focus from the star of the show. While it referenced its latest tablet[1] and watch[2], those products had been cleared from the runway before the company filled Brooklyn's Barclays Center. And there was no mention of the Galaxy Fold, a novelty device that outshines the Note. But as Samsung's extravaganza detailed the finer points of the device line that begat the phablet, it took a detour to note what would be "one more thing" in an Apple keynote: The Galaxy Book S[3]. It's a laptop.
A laptop? Was this some nod to the Microsoft lovefest that permeated this introduction of an Android device? A bit. But this was no workaday PC. For one, it was a device that ran on the new Windows-on-Snapdragon architecture aimed at imbuing PCs with the connectivity and battery longevity of phones. The device's sliver-like clamshell layers and design place it at the top of the modest design heap of the Qualcomm-fueled PC initiative, hence earning it the connotation of design excellence associated with its "S" line.
A laptop crashing a smartphone party may seem surprising. However, despite the operating system divergence, the Galaxy Book S' proposition is highly complementary to that of the Note's -- a connected productivity tool for upscale mobile pros that features nominal weight, minimal thickness, and long battery life.
Furthermore, there are strategic reasons why Samsung would want to introduce the Galaxy Book